2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Lessons Learned from International Dual Degree Master Programs in Engineering

Joint and double degree programs are an increasingly popular form of higher education internationalization. They can be challenging to organize but have gained traction around the world. One big advantage is that they offer an opportunity to build strong academic and institutional partnerships.

Since 1995, the bi-lateral exchange agreements between our US-based institution and various partner institutions in Europe have been developed as undergraduate exchanges as part of our institution’s International Engineering Program. Undergraduates study abroad for one semester before completing six-month internships. In exchange, in the early years only undergraduates from our partner institutions could spend up to a year at University xxx.

But based on student demand from the first German partner school, non-degree undergraduate mobility was expanded to a dual master program in 1998. As a result, while most US students still spend one semester of study abroad, international exchange students can now choose to complete a non-degree exchange or two engineering master’s degrees. Industrial engineers can also pursue a master’s from the German institution and an MBA from University xxx. Thus, the new program model exchanges undergraduates from the US for graduate students from Germany. They spend their 1st year of the MS at their home institution, followed by a year and a summer at University xxx or the other way around.

Since the German model became a highly attractive one for both institutions, similar dual master programs were later developed with institutions in Spain, Italy and France. An earlier B.S./M.S. agreement – now discontinued – had also been created with a Chinese institution. A total of 341 students has graduated from these programs, and eleven are in process this year. The program is being run in collaboration with the Technical University of Braunschweig and the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany, the University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC) in France, the University of Cantabria (UNICAN) in Spain, and Parthenope University in Italy.

With respect to Spain, the program is offered to students majoring in Ocean Engineering, whereas the Italian alliance is designed for those specializing in Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering. This configuration not only allows for the attainment of postgraduate degree programs across borders but also provides students with the opportunity to pursue specialized areas of study that are not yet offered at URI. Thus, the program has been framed as a strategic platform for students to enhance their technical knowledge and deepen their interaction with sector-specific innovations.

In Fall 2024, university xxx conducted a survey assessing these international dual master/MBA programs. This presentation will share survey results highlighting benefits for students, administrative hurdles and success stories. It will also provide lessons learned from the development of such Memorandum of Agreements between US and international partners; and on how best to sustain them. On the institutional side, best practices for program development will be highlighted, and mutual benefits for faculty as well as fundraising strategies to support moving the dual master program from a mobility scheme to international research collaborations.

References

Chan, Roy Y. (2021) Understanding International Joint and Dual Degree Programs: Opportunities and Challenges during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education. Vol. 13, Issue 5 (2021), 86-107.
DOI: 10.32674/jcihe.v13i5.3690 | https://ojed.org/

Steagall, J. W., Falk, P., Gallo, A., & Porter, T. W. (2021). International Double Degree Programs as Accelerators for Internationalization: Lessons from the Trans-Atlantic Business School Alliance. Journal of Teaching in International Business, 32(1), 7–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/08975930.2021.1906378

Berka, S. (2011). The University of Rhode Island Dual Graduate Degree Program with the Technical University of Braunschweig – Its Added Value, Synergies and Gains for Engineering Students. Online Journal for Global Engineering Education (OJGEE), vol. 6. iss. 1, article 5, http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/ojgee/vol6/iss1/.